Freddy R. Troya

9.0

Pago del Cielo Celeste Verdejo Sur Lies 2023 – Rueda DO, Castilla y León, Spain 🇪🇸

Overview
Made from 100% Verdejo, this wine undergoes sur lies aging, allowing extended contact with the lees to build texture and complexity while preserving the variety’s vibrant freshness. The result is a beautifully balanced Verdejo that overdelivers with remarkable depth and value.

Aromas & Flavors
Lime zest, grapefruit, green apple, white peach, fennel, fresh herbs, and subtle citrus blossom are complemented by delicate lees-derived notes of fresh bread and almond.

Mouthfeel
Bright and energetic with lively acidity wrapped around a creamy, silky texture. The sur lies aging adds weight and complexity without introducing buttery richness, creating a beautifully focused and refreshing finish.

Food Pairings
Grilled shrimp, oysters, ceviche, seafood paella, roasted vegetables, goat cheese, sushi, or herb-roasted chicken.

Verdict
An expressive and remarkably well-crafted Verdejo that combines freshness with texture in a way few wines at this price point achieve. Elegant, refreshing, and immensely satisfying.

Did You Know?
“Sur lies” means the wine remains in contact with its spent yeast cells after fermentation. Gentle stirring of the lees (bâtonnage) can further enhance creaminess and complexity while preserving freshness, a technique often associated with top white Burgundies but increasingly embraced by premium Verdejo producers.

🍷 Personal Pick
This wine genuinely surprised me. It delivers far more complexity than expected, with the creamy lees texture beautifully balancing its vibrant acidity. For anyone who thinks Verdejo is simply another crisp white, this bottle proves just how compelling, and underrated Rueda can be. — 8 days ago

Michael Walker

9.7

This is the Couterier St Veran Cour de Bois…..an eminently quaffable white, a real thirst quencher - does that make it good? Pretty simple, sparkly, bright nose, not much structure or body, but tasty. None of that acidic finish I dislike — 8 months ago

Stefan Dolhain

9.3

2016 vintage. — a year ago

Tracy Hall

9.5

Last bottle. Love this! Blue fruits, good texture but smooth. Can’t get enough of it. TBL — 3 years ago

Nathan Renfro

9.1

Nice wine to finish the evening with a crème brûlée. Not too sweet. Apricot, honey with some crispness. — 5 years ago

Peter van den Besselaar

9.0

Vintage 2017 | spicy and juicy, frivolous smell, very quaffable — 5 years ago

Daniel Diaz

10

2026 Cruise Wine — 3 months ago

Amy

9.1

wild ride, v unique. grassy tropical, mineral, lots of different elements sequentially. DFP $35. kind of like a sharper french chardonnay or something? i love this. — 7 months ago

JKT

9.0

This is still hanging in there! Some oxidative notes but not a deal killer and that firm acidic profile now softened by age but enough to hold its own with food just right. — 8 months ago

adela locsin

9.0

first romorantin! very mineral, lots of salt, highly acidic at the front. smells spiced and like quince and a little pear. would be good w something buttery — 10 months ago

Jay Kline

9.3

A tiny, south facing and protected parcel of 80 year old vines, “Champ de Cour” typically shows its quality even when young and this bottle was no exception.

Double-decanted two hours prior to service; enjoyed over the course of three hours. The 2020 “Champ de Cour” pours a deep ruby/purple with medium+ viscosity and light staining of the tears. The nose evokes fresh cut roses in the greenhouse (yes, a touch funky), strawberry (with the leaves), the purple Fun Dip, granite earth, green herbs, and decomposing wood. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ tannin and medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+ and grippy. Fresh, ripe and rustic. I love these wines from Thibault. As I eluded to earlier, I find these drink much better than the VV young. The VV needs about 7 years to really start strutting. Drink this now with some patience and through 2030. Thanks Andy! — 2 years ago

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

9.1

2016 vintage. Reticent nose. Medium-bodied. Smooth on the cheeks with soft tannins. Coming together nicely. — 5 years ago

Alia Connor

9.2

Still just love this so much — 6 years ago

Peter van den Besselaar

9.1

Vintage 2010 | Family lunch | 15 years old romorantin and still só vibrant, well balanced, beautiful bitters, alive and kicking with a quiche from red cabbage and mozzarella. 🥰 — 7 months ago

Rich Bluth

9.0

love this rare grape, lots of minerality — 8 months ago

Chris MacLean

9.0

Not as good as that 2008 of this, but not bad at all. — 8 months ago

with Sarah

Great Sage

9.7

Bitterness of grapefruit peel balances the fresh green apples and strawberry notes of the wine. Tasty and enjoyable! — 10 months ago

John Willison

8.9

Strawberry, Clementine, slightly herbal. — 3 years ago

Doug Powers

9.0

Petrol/diesel aromas up front, crisp and dry, really still seems very youthful, great acidity frames the medium-long finish, lovely!! — 4 years ago

with Jim

Mari Askautrud

9.0

God hvitvin!! Fin gyllen farge, mer søt enn tørr — 6 years ago

with Maren, Siri and 1 other